Oh! Calcutta!

The French phrase “O quel cul t’as!” meaning “What an ass you have!” was supposed to be the title of a rather erotic toned painting by Monsieur Clovis Trouille. But he cleverly played on those words and renamed the painting as “Oh! Calcutta! Calcutta!” using the name of my beloved city of  Calcutta  (now Kolkata). And British theater personality, Kenneth Tynan, used this same name to create his popular theatrical.

Now the phrase “Oh! Calcutta!” has become popularly associated with the city and is used in many magazines, news reports, programmes etc. related to Kolkata as the title. There is also a popular chain of restuarants by the name “Oh! Calcutta!” in some major Indian cities including Kolkata (a must visit, BTW, for people visiting Kolkata. You get amazing Bengali cuisine there; a bit expensive though).

So the phrase “Oh! Calcutta!” would be the answer for the first question of my last quiz. X was the theatrical poster and Y a bird’s eye view of a significant part of Kolkata (you can see the Howrah bridge over the Hooghly, Eden Gardens stadium in the top right and Maidans below).

The two wise men in the second question’s pic are John Calvin, a French theologian and Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher. And they are the very men after whom the main characters of the popular comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, are named. Which is the answer of question 2.

It’s going to be “Oh! Calcutta!” for me for the next 2 weeks as I go home to celebrate Durga Puja. So this blog is going to see some even quieter times till then. Wishing you all here in India, a very happy Eid and Dusshera. Be good and stay safe. I leave you with a random strip from CnH. Enjoy!

Sassy Girls

Seems it’s going to be this quiet in here for some time now. Given the immenesely hectic schedules I am going through. And you’ll are going though. Coz I get no responses for my questions!!

Anyway, moving on with the quiz questions. The answers for the last 2 questions:-

1. The connection is the popular South Korean movie/story, “My Sassy Girl“. This romantic comedy revolves around the chance meeting of a young guy with this stoned girl and how he tries to get her back home to safety dealing with all her histrionics. One thing leads to another and they fall in love and decide to meet underneath a tree someday where they have buried letters writing about how they feel for each other. I’m not really in a narrative mood today, hence such an appalling summary of the story. But do watch it if you get it. It’s good.

The man in the top left is Kim Ho-sik on whose story, this movie is based. He had actually published all his experiences on the internet which became so popular that a novel was made out of it. Which was then made into Korean movie. Which in turn has inspired the 2008 Hollywood flick of the same name (the poster). And also, it inspired the 2008 Bollywood flick, “Ugly aur Pagli” starring Ranbir Shoery and Mallika Sherawat (lady in pink). And that, my friends, is the connect!

2. Again, thought this was easy and was waiting for a correct response. The companies whose logos are in the question, have come together to create the India’s first hill station since independence — Lavasa near Pune, Maharashtra. The logos in order - Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), Novotel, Apollo Hospitals, ITC, Symbiosis Society and University of Oxford. 

 

Now to this week’s questions:-

1. X is the poster for a theatrical. The image in the poster as well as the name of the theatrical is inspired from something. And that “something” has also inspired “something else” related to Y. Tell me all.

 

2. An age old chestnut. Who are these and what did they inspire?

Movie recommendation – Biloxi Blues (1988)

As the quizzing goes on simultaneously, let’s divert our energies a bit and talk about a good movie. Well, this in no way is intended to be your quintessential expert movie review. Neither will I be reviewing any recent release critically nor will I be giving any star rating in the end. No. Rather, I would like to use this blog to talk a little about some not-so-popular movies which I liked a lot and think you’ll would do so. These movies could be of any language and Googling on their names might fetch you some bogus links. But that’s the idea – talk about some rare but good movies.

Today’s recommendation is actually a reasonably well known movie in certain circles, but again, not mainstream. I love world war movies. Heck, I love anything to do with world wars. Especially, World War 2. So a lot of my favorite movies, books, series etc. tend to be based on WW2. This movie is one of those WW2 movies, if you will. But it’s not your typical war movie with bodies of soldiers flying around and platoon leaders going bonkers over the radio. The movie Biloxi Blues is more about the lives of soldiers in the barracks and the little incidents and stories that go on between them as they prepare to go the battlefield.

The story revolves around that of new army recruit Eugene Jerome (Matthew Broderick) and his fellow soldiers in his platoon which is led by Sergeant Toomey. As Eugene learns the ropes of fighting, he matures to be a man and observes the various eccentricities of his fellow soldiers and records them in his personal diary. Really, one of the things I liked the most about this movie were the characters played by unknown actors. There is the God fearing Epstein (Corey Parker) who despises anything wordly, then the flamboyant Joseph Wykowski (Matt Mulhern) who thinks of himself as the most dashing man around. Then Don Carney (Casey Siemaszko), who’s the best mate of Eugene and finds solace in the fact that Eugene, like himself, is also a virgin and he’s not alone in his attempts to losing it.

But of course, the man who takes the movie to a different level is the veteran, Christopher Walken, who plays the character of Sgt. Toomey to perfection. Toomey is your typical strict sarge who has seen the worst of wars and is a man toughened by those many years seeing bloodshed and deaths around. He doesn’t tolerate any indiscipline nor any weak hearted soldiers. He’s tough and doesn’t mind making his men pee their pants to make them tough. But he also doesn’t like smart alecs and soldiers being too perfect for his comfort. He wants a reason to thrash his men and wants to be a hated man himself. He puts his men under the test by openly abusing them and wants them to face it tough ‘coz there ain’t any room for any mother loving pansy. In all this tough play, Toomey gets into some knotty situations with his men and finds himself getting a taste of his own medicine.

The movie ends with Toomey making his pet-hate, Epstein, punish Toomey himself. The best moment comes when Epstein orders to Toomey to “count off”. It’s these small incidents and characters which make the movie memorable. It kind of reminds one of the Beetle Bailey or MASH series. I’m not saying it’s the greatest movie you’re ever gonna watch. In fact, it’s far from that. But it is a nice, feel-good Sunday watch and if you are a war movie fan like me, you would want to watch this to see the world war from a lighter perspective.

How to get the movie – You’d be really lucky if you get hold of it’s rented CD/DVD or even torrent. At least I could not find it. But you might want to check out the listings of HBO or Sony Pix which have shown this movie a few times. Also, in case you find this in a store, buy it. Youtube will give you a few clippings.

All’s quiet…

Yeah, it’s been a very quiet week for this blog. One, I didn’t receive a single response for my last quiz . Contrary to the intentions of the two track quizzing, the last two questions went uncracked. 

Secondly, it’s been a very hectic week for me with work starting at 9:30 a.m. and ending somewhere around 10 p.m. almost everyday. Add to that, I have some exams coming for me in the last week of September and I desperarely need to get started with the preparations. But till now, it’s only been 4-5 lines a night before I doze off everytime. Bummer!

So anyhoo, let me reveal the answers for the last two questions :-

1. The words “Ecce Homo” would be the right answer for this one. Meaning “Behold The Man”, these were the words used by Pontius Pilate when he presented Jesus Christ to the people for crucifixion. The first pic is a painting depicting the same by Quentin Matsys. The second pic is a portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche by Edvard Munch. Ecce Homo is the title of the last book written by Nietzsche. And finally, Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) makes an appearance in the connect because Ecce Homo is the title theme of the series, Mr. Bean (non-animated one, of course).

2. Blistering barnacles!, someone should have cracked this. Is an “old chestnut”. These are the flags of the fictitous countries appearing in the Adventures of Tintin series. In order – Syldavia, San Theodoros and Borduria.

20 points to the quiz master. <clap><clap>

 

Now to the next two questions of this series. In my opinion, both of these are reasonably easy. Hoping for some cracks this time.

1. Connect (full story please)

2. Connect again. The following have collaborated to do something which is a first in India. (have deliberately shaded some portions)

Two track quizzing

Starting this week, I am going to start a new concept in blog quizzing (oh yeah, a “new concept”). From now on, we’ll have two parallel tracks of questions – one for regular quizzers and one for non-regulars but who take interest in trivia.

Basically, the idea is to get maximum participation from all the readers of this blog. Yes, all four of you. “Regular quizzers” are ones who scour through all the other numerous quiz blogs, attend all major quiz competitions and quiz club meetings in and around their cities and win thousands of rupees, thousands worth Landmark/Odyssey coupons, scores of t-shirts and a few iPods each year. To challenge them, one needs to come up with tough arbit questions from not so popular domains. But such questions tend to to discourage the “non-regular quizzers” from participating i.e. peope who have the knack for trivia but do not pursue it as a hobby and may not have all the “old chestnuts” at the tips of their fingers. For them, good but old quiz questions are ideal as while they are challenging for them and encourages more participation, the quiz master also gets to enjoy all the “oohs” and “aahs” that come out when the answers are revealed.

So the rules are simple here – each quiz post would carry two questions and one can attempt any number of those. The questions, per sé, would not have any tag saying “for regulars” or “for non-regulars” but one of them might be slightly difficult/arbit while the other much easier. No points involved anywhere. It’s just the quizzing. But people with maximum answers would certainly get special mentions. So anyway, without further yaking, let’s get on to the questions:-

1. Connect

2. Connect (think fiction)

Dum Di-Di Dum Dum Da Dum

This is how the song “Good Sign Bad Sign” went in the musical, “A House of Mr. Biswas”, based on the novel by V.S.Naipaul (X). But then, Mr. Monty Norman (Y), the composer of that musical, realized the virtues of that tune and reproduced it later in the form of the popular James Bond theme for the series based on the novels by Ian Fleming (Z). And hence, was the question.

Again, a solo winner this time – Priyambad Pattanayak - the movie buff that he is, this probably was a piece of cake for him. Well done, Patt!

Help your countrymen

The state of Bihar has been devastated by the flooding of Kosi river and this has been declared as a national calamity. Thousands have been displaced from their homes and lands, have lost all their property and hundreds have lost their lives. People who were already under the poverty line have been robbed off whatever little they had. Administration is facing some tough times trying to rescue all the people with inhospitable conditions and people being stranded in remote, unreachable areas.

It’s been a disaster of monstrous proportions and the the county needs a lot of money and kind for relief work and rehabilitation. We all can contribute in our own small ways. The following are the details of how donations can be sent:-

Electronic transfer (easiest and most effective way):-

CHIEF MINISTER RELIEF FUND, State Bank of India,
Account Number: 10839124928
Branch: Patna Secretariat, Bihar

Cheques/Drafts:-

In favour of CM RELIEF FUND. POSTED AT BIHAR CM SECRETARIAT (BY BIHAR GOVT.), payable at Patna.

Address - Chief Minister Secretariat, 4 Deshratna Marg, Patna, Bihar, India – 800001

(Contributions made to Chief Minister Relief Fund shall qualify for 100 per cent exemption from Income Tax under section 80g(2)(iii)(hf) of the Income-Tax Act.)

More info – 1, 2 and in general, you can search in Google for other such channels to help.

Am not trying to be preachy and all here, but just doing my least bit sitting in the comfort of my air conditioned office.

Paradise Lost

“If there is a Paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here” - So said the 5th Mughal emperor, Jehangir, on the splendour and beauty of Kashmir. Alas, not many of us even dare to go to that place now, a place which was the quintessential element of success for any Bollywood movie in the 60s and 70s. A place which has just remained in postcards and news headlines now. 

The flag shown in my previous question is that of the state of Jammu and Kashmir – the only state to have its own flag and constitution. 

Only one winner this time – ace quizzer, popular quizmaster and fan of the second best club in EPL (Arsenal), Vinod Ganesh. <clap><clap>

Now coming to the next question and the last question for this week:-

It was originally created for one of the works of X. But Y hijacked it, added some jazz to it and reproduced it for one of the works of Z. Identity X,Y and Z and tell me what is being talked about.

Identify

The next question is a just a simple identification question. Whose flag is this and what is so special about it?

Never since, never before – Satyajit Ray

Yes, many of you’ll may not agree with that title. Some many even comment, “I don’t get it. What’s so great about Satyajit Ray’s work? I mean, it’s slow, too serious and all he does is show a young village boy running around the fields. So?!”. Well that’s the kind of generalization that a lot of people tend to do i.e. Satyajit Ray = Pather Panchali and that’s all there’s to him. What they may not know is that this same person created another gem called “Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne” and its sequel “Hirak Rajar Deshe” which had all the dialogs delivered in rhymes and produced as memorable and lovable characters as Hirak Raja (Utpal Dutta). A far cry from a serious movie, it is one of the most unique comedies ever made. What they also may not know is that those really melodious songs of that same movie were composed by the same man, an exponent of both Hindustani and Western classical music. This apart from the numerous other movies he has made on various subjects and genres touching so many different facets of people from all the strata of the society (Teen Kanya – spine-chilling horror, Pikoo’s Diary – short story as seen from a child’s eyes, Charulata – lonely life of a wealthy housewife, Sonar Kella – thrilling detective story of Feluda series, Shatranj Ke Khiladi – how the nawabs wasted time in petty games). And of course, movies were just one of his many abilities. Even now, Ray’s writings in the form of his short stories or Feluda series or Professor Shonku series sell like hotcakes. I agree that language may have posed as an obstacle in spreading Ray’s works much beyond Bengal. (BTW, one read of any of his English works and his lucid mastery over the Queen’s language is easily evident). But truly, that in no way undermines the greatness of this person. Not just as a master artist, but also as one who read society and human emotions so accurately and reproduced them so brilliantly in his works.

My last question was just a feeble attempt in showcasing some of his lesser known accomplishments. The first pic shows some of the fonts that Ray created (Ray Roman, Ray Bizarre, Daphnis, Holiday Script) — A great enthusiast of calligraphy, Ray spent a lot of time in coming up with new fonts and designs for the movie posters, book jackets and print ads. The second pic is the poster of E.T. by Steven Spielberg. The story of E.T. is supposed to be a lift from “The Alien” by Satyajit Ray which, of course, was vehemently denied by Spielberg. The truth is still debatable but we Bongs fans would like to think otherwise . Third pic is the movie poster of Shakespeare Wallah by Ivory Merchant – one of the rare movies for which Ray composed the music but didn’t direct it. And the last pic which shows the logo of Doordarshan was a really toughie — The first non-live program to be shown on DD after it started colour television broadcasting, was the movie Sadgati followed by Shatranj Ke Khiladi, both directed by Ray (this was in 1982 when the first program to be shown was the PM’s speech on Independence Day) . I know, this was too far fetched but guess I used it to massage my “quizmaster ego” (nyah-hah-haah!).

And am super glad that three people cracked it. That’s like 75% of the readership of this blog cracked it! All got the connect, but Vinod Ganesh came the closest only missing the DD connection (which can be ignored, I guess). Kudos to you all. With that you confirm yourself as a Ray fan in my book and win yourself the opportunity of getting tortured by my lecture on Ray, the next time I meet you.

Winners:

Vinod Ganesh

Sourya Biswas

Rajorshi Biswas

Cheerios,

Paulie